Wisconsin Recall Elections Could Have Massive Abortion Impact

With most of the country focused on primary elections, pro-life advocates in Wisconsin are gearing up for a critical June recall election of pro-life Governor Scott Walker, pro-life Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and several pro-life State Senators. While the impetus for the recall stems from leftwing opposition to Governor Scott Walker’s policies regarding collective bargaining and public employee benefits, there is much at stake for unborn children.

Since Governor Walker took office in January 2011, the pro-life movement in Wisconsin has made monumental gains. Walker signed into law a state budget that included a provision to prohibit the UW Hospital Authority from being involved in performing abortions and from using taxpayer dollars to pay medical students to learn how to perform abortions. Walker steered Wisconsin Well Woman funds to local counties instead of Planned Parenthood.

Governor Walker is also expected to sign bills that allow Wisconsin to opt out of abortion funding under Obamacare, to protect pregnant women from coerced abortions and to prohibit RU486 chemical web cam abortions.

Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin and their allies are using the recall election as a chance to undo these advances. In response to Walker’s pro-life actions as Governor, Tanya Atkinson, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Action of Wisconsin, remarked, “Never before have we seen a governor act so quickly and against the wants and priorities of Wisconsin to restrict such a wide range of women’s health care services.” NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Executive Director Lisa Subeck said, “Governor Walker and Republican legislators promised to focus on jobs and the economy but instead have waged an all-out war on women in our state.”

Scott Walker’s life-saving work as Governor has earned him the praise of Wisconsin Right to Life, the state’s largest pro-life organization.

“Governor Scott Walker is a champion for life,” said Susan Armacost, Legislative Director for Wisconsin Right to Life. “Wisconsin Right to Life has had the pleasure of working with Scott Walker since he was first elected to the State Legislature where he was a dynamic leader for the right-to-life cause. And now as Governor, he is courageously working to protect taxpayers, women and babies from the scourge of abortion. There is no one in our nation more committed to building a culture of life than Governor Scott Walker.”

Walker’s concern for unborn children and their mothers goes back to when he served in the Wisconsin legislature. As an Assembly Representative, Walker voted for the Women’s Right to Know Act, which requires a woman be provided the full range of information prior to an abortion and establishes a 24-hour waiting period. He also voted for tax exemptions related to adoption expenses, to expand funding for adoption assistance for children at risk of developing disabilities and for a provision to allow a pregnant mother and her unborn child to be considered a family eligible for Badgercare. He also voted to recognize an unborn child as a separate victim in a crime committed against the pregnant mother and for a state ban on the horrific practice of partial-birth abortion. In addition, Walker authored a bill to strengthen conscience protections for medical professionals and institutions.

The likely gubernatorial candidates to challenge Walker hold pro-abortion positions. Kathleen Falk is the darling of the pro-abortion movement, Kathleen Vinehout has a pro-abortion voting record in the State Senate and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett maintained a solidly pro-abortion record while a state legislator and a member of Congress.

Defeating Governor Walker is the top prize for abortion advocates in the recall election but they also have their sights set on his Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and State Senators Van Wanggaard, Terry Moulton, Jerry Petrowski and Scott Fitzgerald, all of which stand strong on the right to life. Each of them faces either an announced pro-abortion opponent or is expected to face a pro-abortion opponent.